(Elirtatian  Eburalimi  for 
llip  SoJitau. 

&antrr  Nannal  eraUiiuy  ^rhool.  Nrbraaka. 


Hmerlcan  /IDissionarg  Bssociation. 

Fourth  Ave.  and  Twenty-second  St.  New  York 


(Elinsttan  lEiiurattnn  for  SnJiian, 


BY  MISS  E.  J.  KENNEDY, 

Santee  Normal  Training  School,  Neb. 

Many  people  are  now  saying,  “ What  need  is 
there  for  mission  schools  among  the  Indians?  We 
hear  of  so  much  being  done  by  the  Government  for 
them.  Why,  there  are  113  boarding-schools,  with 
accommodations  for  16,000  pupils,  besides  many 
small  day  schools,  in  the  villages  and  camps  through- 
out the  Indian  country.”  Yes,  it  is  well  known  that 
the  Government  has  taken  a very  active  interest  in 
the  welfare  of  the  Indian  for  some  years.  The  In- 
dians have  been  located  upon  reservations  and  fed 
and  clothed.  In  many  places  they  have  been  granted 
land  in  severalty  ; houses  have  been  built  for  them, 
and  they  have  been  provided  with  teams,  wagons, 
plows,  tools,  and  all  the  necessary  implements  for 
cultivating  their  fields.  Their  children  have  been 
cared  for  and  taught  in  the  Government  school  at 
great  expense,  and  some  progress  has  been  made 
towards  civilizing  these  people.  But  what  is  the 
condition  to-day  of  the  great  mass  of  the  race? 
Still  on  the  reservations,  still  being  fed ; many  of 
the  children  are  being  educated,  and  money  is  being 
paid  to  them  in  large  sums.  They  are  still  depen- 
dent upon  the  Government  for  existence.  United 
States  Indian  Commissioner  Hon.  William  A.  Jones 
says:  “The  Indian  is  little,  if  any,  nearer  the  goal 


3 


of  independence  than  he  was  thirty  years  ago,  and  if 
the  present  policy  is  continued,  he  will  get  little,  if 
any,  nearer  in  thirty  years  to  come.”  And  our  U.  S. 
Board  of  Indian  Commissioners,  in  their  last  annual 
report,  urged  that  the  whole  system  of  guardianship 
which  has  been  exercised  by  the  Government  for  so 
long  over  the  Indians  should  come  to  an  end,  and 
they  should  be  put  upon  an  equal  footing  with  other 
citizens,  so  far  as  their  relations  with  the  Go\ern- 
ment  are  concernetl.  In  the  Government  schools  a 
secular  education  only  is  aimed  at.  Its  schools  send 
out  no  leaders  trained  for  Christian  work.  The 
ideals  set  before  their  pupils  are  entirely  along  the 
lines  of  self-support  and  morality,  which  is  very 
good,  so  far  as  it  goes  ; but  it  does  not  meet  the 
need  of  the  Indian,  born  a savage,  and  raised  in  an 
atmosphere  of  superstition  and  ignorance — an  utterly 
selfish  being,  with  no  conception  of  the  home-life, 
and  cherishing  a hearty  hatred  for  all  whom  he 
counts  his  enemies, 

\ow,  to  change  his  customs,  dress  and  manner  of 
gaining  a living,  does,  not  bring  about  the  desired 
change  in  the  man.  Since  this  plan  does  not  fully 
meet  our  ideal  of  the  duty  which  Christian  America 
owes  to  the  Indian,  from  some  other  source  then  must 
come  the  revelation  of  God's  saving  love  that  w ill 
satisfy  his  heart-hunger  and  give  him  the  knowledge 
of  Christ  as  his  Saviour  and  the  Word  of  God  as  the 
true  standard  of  Christian  conduct  and  purity  of 
life.  Surely,  then,  the  whole  work  of  Christianizing 
and  fitting  the  Indians  for  the  duties  and  responsi- 
bilities of  Christian  citizenship  are  laid  upon  the 
churches.  I think  it  is  an  acknowledged  fact  that  in 
all  heathen  lands  the  trained  native  missionary  is  of 
much  more  value  in  the  work  than  the  white  mission- 


4 


ary.  So  we  find  that  in  Cliina,  India,  Turkey  and 
Africa  there  are  Christian  schools  in  which  students 
are  being  fitted  for  the  work  of  Bible  women,  nurses, 
teachers,  doctors  and  missionaries. 

And  with  all  our  splendid  public  schools,  colleges, 
state  normals,  universities,  etc  , yet  each  of  the  great 
denominations  have  their  Christian  colleges  and 
seminaries  in  which  their  ministers,  teachers  and 
evangelists  are  specially  trained  for  their  work. 
Does  the  Church  realize  the  need  of  the  Indian 
and  her  duty  and  responsibility  to  him  ? It  seems 
that  she  does  not,  for  we  have  these  last  ten  years 
been  compelled  to  cut  down,  year  after  year,  our  ex- 
penses in  the  mission  fields,  close  up  work  already 
well  in  hand,  and  faithful  workers  have  been  dropped 
from  our  rolls.  Friends,  if  the  Indian  is  ever  edu- 
cated up  to  citizenship  and  Christian  manhood  and 
made  a self-supporting,  self-respecting  brother  in 
Christ — a fellow-laborer  in  uplifting  his  race — it 
must  be  done  by  just  such  work  as  the  American 
Missionary  .Association  is  doing  through  itsschools  and 
missionaries  by  your  contributions.  During  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  late  President  Harrison,  President 
Roosevelt,  who  was  then  a subordinate,  was  com- 
missioned to  inspect  all  the  Indian  agencies.  In  re- 
ferring recently  to  this  experience,  he  said  that  he  had 
not  travelled  far  ov'er  the  reservations  before  he  dis- 
covered that  the  greatest  of  all  forces  for  uplifting 
the  Indian  and  transforming  him  into  a Christian 
citizen  was  the  missionary.  There  is  not  space  to 
tell  of  the  beginning  and  growth  of  the  American 
Missionary  Association's  school -work  among  the 
Dakota  or  Sioux  Indians,  so  I will  speak  only  of  its 
present  conditions.  The  central  mission  stations  and 
schools  are  at  Fort  Berthold,  N.  D. ; Oahe,  S.  D. ; 


5 


and  Santee,  Neb.  Each  of  these  schools  is  now 
limited  to  a little  more  than  one-half  its  capacity  of 
work.  The  oldest  and  largest  of  these  schools  is  the 
Santee  Normal  Training  School,  which  was  begun 
in  1870  in  a two-roomed  log-cabin,  and  now  has  the 
appearance  of  quite  a little  village. 

This  year  we  have  had  ninety-three  boarding  pu- 
pils in  our  school,  varying  in  ages  from  seven  to 
twenty -seven,  and  in  grades  from  first  primary  through 
high  school. 

Half  of  the  day  is  given  to  industrial  work,  and 
all  have  instruction  in  the  care  of  their  own  rooms 
and  the  house.  The  girls  have  lessons  also  in  cook- 
ing and  sewing,  which  they  enjoy  very  much.  In  the 
cooking  classes  each  one  is  given  a blank  book,  in 
which  she  copies  all  the  recipes  given,  and  the  results 
of  every  experiment  made  by  the  class.  During  the 
vacations  these  school  girls  have  opportunity  in  their 
homes  to  put  into  practice  what  they  have  learned, 
and  to  prove  to  their  people  the  benefits  of  cooking 
lessons,  besides  introducing  many  desirable  changes 
in  their  homes.  Most  of  the  young  women  are  eager 
to  learn  to  cut  and  make  their  own  clothing,  and  also 
to  make  children's  garments.  I once  had  charge  of 
a children’s  missionary  society  of  boys  and  girls  from 
six  to  twelve  years  of  age,  and  in  one  year  each  child 
made  two  or  more  little  garments  which  were  sold  to 
their  parents  for  the  baby  or  little  brothers  and  sis- 
ters at  home,  and  the  money  went  into  their  mission- 
ary box  and  was  sent  to  Kalgan,  China.  The  boys 
have  lessons  in  farming,  caring  for  stock,  printing, 
carpentry  and  blacksmithing.  Some  of  our  former 
pupils  are  now  working  in  Government  shops  at  dif- 
ferent agencies.-  All  our  teaching  is  made  as  simple 
and  practical  as  possible,  so  that  they  may  use  their 


6 


knowledge  in  the  more  limited  surroundings  of  their 
own  homes.  In  the  printing-office  there  are  two 
school -papers  printed,  one  in  the  Dakota  language 
and  the  other  in  the  English.  There  are  also  Sunday- 
school  lesson  leaflets  printed  in  the  Dakota  language, 
and  other  matter  for  school  and  general  mission  use. 
Books  are  rebound,  and  papers  and  magazines  are 
bound  for  school  and  library  use.  All  the  presswork, 
typesetting,  binding,  and  first  proof-reading  are  done 
by  the  boys,  under  the  direction  of  their  instructor. 

In  connection  with  our  Santee  school,  there  is  a 
Bible  Correspondence  School,  with  a membership  of 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty.  Many  of  these  stu- 
dents are  former  Santee  pupils,  some  are  native  mis- 
sionaries or  pastors,  or  Y.  M.  C.  A.  leaders,  and  the 
rest  are  the  more  progressive  Indian  young  men  and 
a few  of  the  younger  women  who  are  studying.  The 
object  of  this  correspondence  class  is  to  help  the  na- 
tive pastors  and  teachers,  and  all  who  will  study  at 
home.  Another  feature  of  school  work  is  the  lantern 
lectures  given  by  Mr.  F.  B.  Riggs,  not  for  this  school 
alone,  but  for  all  who  will  attend,  and  these  lectures 
are  always  well  attended  both  at  Santee  and  when 
he  makes  his  tours  up  through  the  Indian  country. 
Me  travelled  five  hundred  miles  by  wagon,  giving 
lectures  in  various  mission  stations  and  school  build- 
ings. There  is  a Y.  M.  C.  A.  at  Santee,  which  is 
mostly  composed  of  the  young  men  in  our  mission 
school.  We  have  an  active  Endeavor  Society  that 
has  for  several  years  been  helping  to  support  a mis- 
sionary in  Turkey. 

The  Mothers’  Christian  Endeavor  Society  is  just 
ten  years  old  now.  It  meets  once  a month  with  one 
of  the  school  matrons,  and  its  influence  is  being  felt 
more  every  year  in  the  Indian  homes. 


7 


Among  the  girls  in  the  Dakota  Home  there  is  a 
missionary  society  of  twelve  members  who  have 
pledged  eight  dollars  for  missions  during  this  year, 
and  they  have  already  paid  five  dollars  on  their 
pledge. 

They  earn  their  money  by  making  bead  belts, 
watch-chains,  and  other  articles  of  Indian  fancy 
work  in  their  leisure  time.  They  are  very  enthusi- 
astic in  both  their  work  and  study. 

The  Alumni  of  Santee  Normal  Training  School 
have  for  several  years  been  helping  to  support  a stu- 
dent here,  wliich  shows  their  appreciation  of  wiiat 
the  school  has  done  for  them. 

I might  name  a long  list  of  former  pupils  of  our 
school  who  are  leading  quiet,  busy  lives  in  their 
homes.  They  are  respected  by  all  who  know  them, 
and  to  these  young  men  and  women  the  older  people 
come  with  their  questions,  doubts,  and  difficulties. 
They  are  the  leaders  in  church  work,  and  in  politics ; 
as  the  young  men  vote  so  do  the  older  men.  To-day 
we  find  that  those  who  are  foremost  in  e\  ery  advance 
towards  the  development  of  Christian  civilization 
are  former  jnipils  of  the  mission  schools.  As  we 
watch  the  growth  and  development  of  these  pupils 
after  they  have  been  with  us  a few  years,  and  con- 
sider the  homes  from  which  some  of  them  come,  we 
wonder  at  the  transforming  power  .of  Christian  edu- 
cation. 

Among  the  Dakota  or  Sioux  Indians  there  are 
about  2,500  members  of  the  Presbyterian  and  Con- 
gregational churches  scattered  all  over  the  northwest. 
In  the  early  years  these  Christian  Indians  were  con- 
tent to  meet  anywhere.  But  now  there  is  a growing 
desire  for  a church,  and  in  the  past  few  years  the 
people  have  worked  eagerly  for  church  buildings 


8 


until  now  the  Indian  country  is  marked  here  and 
there  with  little  churches  which  are  largely  the  re- 
sults of  their  own  labors.  Gradually  they  are  coming 
also  to  take  up  the  duty  of  pastoral  support.  The 
Indian  members  of  these  two  churches  have  to- 
gether formed  a society  for  the  extension  of  work 
among  their  own  people,  called  the  Dakota  Native 
Missionary  Society.  In  most  of  the  churches  there 
are  women's  sewing  circles  which  have  a faculty  for 
raising  money  that  is  truly  wonderful.  The  Indians 
are  liberal,  and  ready  to  di\ide  their  good  things 
with  their  neighbors.  The  Dakota  Native  Society 
has  for  several  years  supported  a Dakota  Indian 
missionary  whom  they  sent  to  the  Crow  Indians, 
their  old-time  enemies.  During  the  twenty-five  years 
between  1876  and  1894  the  sum  total  raised  by  these 
native  Christians  for  Indian  missions  was  §17,652, 
and  during  the  past  eight  years  they  have  given  for 
the  work  among  their  own  people  nearly  §20,000 
besides  quite  a nice  little  sum  for  foreign  missions. 
Last  year  the  Indian  women  of  Pilgrim  .Church  at 
Santee  gave  §10  for  the  work  among  the  colored 
people  at  Tougaloo,  Miss.,  and  §5  for  foreign  mis- 
sions besides  what  they  gave  through  the  regular 
church  contributions.  It  is  above  all  the  influence  of 
Christian  missions  and  Christian  education  that  is 
changing  the  Indian  ideals  of  life  from  these  of 
roving  savages  and  pauper  dependents,  to  a willing 
attitude  towards  self-support  and  creative  industries. 
The  great  need  of  the  Indians  of  every  tribe  is 
trained  Christian  leaders  from  among  their  own 
people,  but  abov  e all  they  must  have  a firm  faith  in 
Christ  as  their  personal  Saviour,  and  a true  realiza- 
tion that  He  alone  can  give  to  their  people  .ill  that 
we  desire  for  them. 


